Generally, since a secondary battery may be charged and discharged unlike a primary battery, the secondary battery has been applied to various fields such as a digital camera, a cellular phone, a laptop computer, and a hybrid vehicle and has been actively studied. An example of the secondary battery includes a nickel-cadmium battery, a nickel-metal hydride battery, a nickel-hydrogen battery, and a lithium secondary battery. In addition, among these secondary batteries, the lithium secondary battery having a high energy density and a discharging voltage has been mainly studied, and has been commercialized and widely used.
Further, the secondary battery is configured in a form of a battery module in which a plurality of battery cells are stacked due to the necessity of a high output and a large capacity, wherein the battery module includes an electrode terminal formed so as to protrude outwardly, such that it may be connected to a power cable of an external device.
Here, the electrode terminal of the battery module has a screw thread formed on an outer peripheral surface thereof, and the power cable of the external device has a terminal coupled thereto. The terminal is inserted onto an outer side of the electrode terminal and is connected to the electrode terminal in a scheme of fixing the terminal using a nut.
However, in the above-mentioned configuration and scheme, since a tool capable of tightening the nut should be inserted when the battery module is installed in a specific space or a plurality of battery modules are stacked to configure a battery pack, a sufficient space should be secured. In addition, a specific torque should be applied in order to tighten the nut, and disassembling and assembling are difficult at the time of performing a check due to occurrence of abnormality.
As the related art, European Patent Publication Application No. 0,896,389 entitled “Improved Battery Terminal” has been disclosed.